Disclaimer: Nothing you recognise is mine, unfortunately
It was cold and dark outside with snow building up in the windowsill, but the common room was warm and cosy with the soft golden glow of the fire lighting up the faces of the seven students sitting in a loose circle around the fireplace. One of these students was not there by choice as she disapproved of the company she was with. Lily Evans loathed a certain James Potter and she definitely disliked his friends Sirius Black and peter Pettigrew. The only marauder that Lily liked was Remus Lupin, but it was because of her friends that she was sitting here. Let's have fun, Lily; we make sure that Potter doesn't touch you, Lily. Yeah right, that's why Potter's arm was trying to snake its way around her shoulder again!
"So that's why you never leave Moony alone in a room containing any sort of chocolate!" Sirius sniggered.
Lily's traitorous friends and Potter laughed along with him, while Remus blushed.
Once again Potter tried to put his arm around Lily and once again she shrugged it off. If it wasn't for Anna and her huge crush on Remus, then Lily would have hexed him so fast that he would be lying in a coma before he knew what hit him… okay, maybe she wouldn't put him in a coma, she would just injure him really badly.
After a two second pause, Sirius flicked his hair out of his eyes and said "I'm bored!"
Unknown to Lily, this was a signal arranged a couple of hours ago by her friends and Sirius.
**Flashback**
Sirius cornered Anna and Lizzy in the corridor after lunch, when they had just said goodbye to Lily.
"We need a plan!" was his greeting.
"A plan for what?" asked Anna and Lizzy together, which was a disconcerting habit as they were identical twins. The same pretty heart shaped faces disguised their evil pranking minds. The same evil pranking mind that Sirius and James both shared. This caused them to be in as nearly as many detentions as the marauders as they were Sirius' favourite pranking accessories.
"For the Evans/ James situation," Sirius replied with an air that it should be obvious what he was talking about.
"Lily!" the two twins corrected Sirius.
"Fine, fine, Lily, whatever! I can't stand James' moping around anymore! All he ever talks about is her! Do you know that we haven't planned a good prank in ages!" Sirius' voice rose with each exclamation.
"Now Sirius we know that you have had a hard time of it lately-" Anna began, taking one of Sirius' arms
"-So that's why we prepared this especially for you," Lizzy finished with a wicked smile on her face, and taking Sirius' other arm. They began to lead to him up the staircase where, with the help of Remus, they had set up a little prank for Sirius.
Sirius began to worry, the terrible twins never smiled like that unless there was a prank going down. So he dug his heels in and refused to move. The twins tugged him hard but when that didn't work; they simply whipped out their wands and levitated him up the stairs to the girls' bathroom on the third floor. Sirius seeing where they were taking him; struggled harder and tried to grab on to anything he could reach.
"It's no use in struggling, Sirius, you have had this coming for a long time," sang Lizzy as she levitated him into a cubicle where Remus and Peter were waiting. A couple of silencing charms (Sirius was fond of screaming) and transfigurations later and Sirius was looking exceptionally pretty with his hair lengthened and curled and his make-up tastefully done. He was wearing Lizzy's uniform but he was having a problem with the skirt, as he was several inches taller than her, so the skirt was showing a lot of thigh, and the other boys in the corridor were noticing, judging by the whistles that were directed at Sirius.
Sirius flipped his hair back, winked at the whistlers and swayed his hips as he walked. "Now that we're finished embarrassing me, can we please get a plan together, Lizanna, we need your evil mind to get Lily to go out with James,"
"Please! You don't need an evil mind to see that Lily is already falling for James," Anna scoffed.
"What? When did that happen?" Sirius yelled.
"All we're saying is that she just needs a bit of a push in the right direction." Lizzy said.
"A push in his direction!" giggled Anna.
"A push you say? Hmmmm… I can provide that. Well I'm off to find Moony, just get Evans to the common room tonight and wait for my signal," Sirius said and began walking away.
"It's LILY! And what's the signal?" Anna and Lizzy bellowed after him.
"Yeah, Yeah, you'll know it when you hear it," Sirius yelled back as he sashayed away.
** End flashback**
"Sirius, you're always bored," said Remus patiently, as if he was talking to a two-year-old.
"No this time I'm really bored!" Sirius whined, with a wink at Anna and Lizzy. They quickly caught on and so they nodded at him.
"I know," Sirius said. "Let's play closer!"
Lily sat up, shrugged off Potter's arm again, with confusion written across her face. "What's closer?" she asked.
"It's a little bit like 'spin the bottle' but with a twist." Potter said with a grin at Sirius, he knew where this was going to lead.
"What kind of twist?" Lily asked suspiciously.
"Ev-" Sirius broke off at a look from the twins, "I mean, Lily, why so suspicious?"
She just looked at him and he conceded her point. "Relax nothing bad will happen."
"What's the twist, Black?" She repeated.
"Well… instead of kissing the other person, you have to avoid kissing them." Sirius explained.
"Well that's easy… wait, what's the catch?" Lily asked, narrowing her eyes at Sirius.
"There is no catch, you just have to not kiss the other person, although they can do everything to make you kiss them," sighed Remus, he had been played by this game before.
"All right, why don't we play a couple a rounds?" Sirius suggested with a smirk in the twins', namely Lizzy's, direction.
"I don't like that smirk, you! Don't make me take out the pictures!" Lizzy threatened.
"What pictures?" James sat up straight, "I wanna see some pictures!"
"Not now!" hissed Sirius. "Let's just play the game!"
With a bit of mumbling from Lily, the group settled themselves on the floor in a circle. Sirius produced a bottle, which he and Remus had charmed earlier, so that when Lily or James spins the bottle, it would only land on the other. "Shall I spin first?" asked Sirius. He took the general nods and Lily's mumbling as a yes. He spun the bottle aiming it for Lizzy, but to his surprise and the rest of the group's amusement it landed on James. Remus smirked as he leaned back, ah sweet revenge! You see what Sirius didn't know is that when he asked Remus to charm the bottle for James and Lily, Remus also took the opportunity to charm the bottle for Sirius and James. James and Sirius were both self-professed masters of this game and they have never lost a game yet, it would be interesting to see who backed down this time.
"What? I cha-" Sirius began, and then broke off. Then he realised, "Moony!"
Remus smirked, "Sucks to be you, Pads!"
"You know what, fine! But I will get you for this, I know where you sleep!" Sirius growled. "Let's do this Potter!"
"You're on Black, prepare to lose!"
The rest of the group watched as James and Sirius arranged themselves so that they were facing each other on the same sofa. They were having a staring contest, daring the other to go first. The rest of the group were trying to hold back their laugher as they knew how competitive and stubborn these two boys were.
James was dammed if he kissed Sirius and he was dammed if he was going to back down, this left only one option!
"Time Out! Me and Pads need to discuss something," James said. Sirius agreed and the two went into the corner to talk.
"Come on Pads, take one for the team. I can't have Lily thinking I swing your way!"
"Nu-huh! I have never lost a game of this and I don't plan to start now!"
"Fine, you leave me no choice! Pick your weapon on…. One! Two! Three!"
Both boys shook their fists up and down, then Sirius kept his fist closed, while James opened his hand out flat. "HA! I win!"
"What! How does paper beat rock?" Sirius exclaimed. Then he accepted his defeat and walked back to the group, muttering under his breath, "Stupid muggle game! Paper can't beat rock by covering it! Stupid Moony teaching him that game! Stupid Moony charming the dammed bottle!"
James walked behind him, smirking at what Sirius was muttering and at what would happen next.
"I back down, he wins," Sirius announced sourly as he and James took their places in the circle again.
"My turn!" James said spinning the bottle, and just as it was charmed, it swung round to Lily.
"No! I am not playing with him!" she cried.
"Come on, Lily you have play or else you have to do the forfeit," said Lizzy.
"Give me the forfeit!"
Lizzy, Anna and Sirius looked at each other, this was not part of the plan! They didn't have a forfeit!
Anna suddenly got an idea, she nodded at Lizzy. Lizzy began to grin; she knew exactly what Anna was thinking. Sirius seen the grin and began to relax again. Anna got up, walked over to Lily and whispered in her ear. The others in the group, excepting Lizzy, had no idea what she was saying, but they knew that it must be bad as they watched Lily's face change from her smug look to one of disgust, then sheer horror, and then to resignation.
"Fine!" she said. "But I won't forget this!"
"That's good," whispered Lizzy. "She can thank us for the rest of her life."
The group held its breath as they watched Lily and James sit on the sofa.
Sirius took it upon himself to act as commentator for the rest of the group, "So welcome to this epic battle of wills between the Lovely Lily Evans and the Prongtastic James Potter-"
"'Prongtastic' isn't a word, Sirius!" Remus interrupted. "And we don't need commentary, we can see just fine!"
"I don't care about either of your statements, so SSSSSHHHH!" Sirius hissed at him. "As I was saying, who will win this game of closer? Oooohhhh! It looks like Prongs has made the first move!"
And, indeed he had. James looked at Lily's lips and then leaned forward so that their foreheads were nearly touching. Lily gave him a look of disgust and scooted back to the furthest edge of the sofa, to increase the distance between them.
"Aaaannndd…. Ms Evans has used a defensive tactic, leaving Mr Prongs with the upper hand. She hasn't hit him yet, so that's a good sign folks!" Sirius whispered to the group.
James followed Lily across the sofa and placed one hand on either side of her head, so that she was trapped in his arms. Lily visibly gulped at his closeness and unconsciously, her eyes went to his lips. He smirked, realising that it was only a matter of time. The smirk made her glare up into his eyes but the disconcerting hazel colour made her mind go blank for the moment.
"Mr Prongs has left Ms Evans with nowhere to go, is it the end or does the lovely Ms Evans have something up her sleeve?"
Lily heard this last comment and it made her snap out of the daze she was in, and it gave her an idea. With a smirk to rival his, she leaned closer to James and was pleased to see this movement catch him off guard.
"Soooo…. folks it seems that Ms Evans has taken control of game, leaving Mr Prongs looking very desperate, may I take this moment to remind you folks at home that Mr Prongs has not lost a game yet but it looks like his winning streak may be over!" Sirius said gleefully.
"What in the name of Merlin, Sirius? Who are the folks at home?" asked a very confused Remus.
"Your mother," said Sirius, sticking out his tongue.
Sirius' commentary seemed to spur Lily on, as she bit her bottom lip, and then let it out slowly so that it caught James' attention. This worked, as James' eyes were firmly fixed on her lower lip. Lily smirked again, knowing that she had James right where she wanted him, because if there was one thing that Lily hated doing, then it would be losing to James Potter.
James, seeing how smug Lily had become, decided to up his game, because if there's one thing James hating doing, it would be losing. James sat back, leaving Lily very confused. He grinned a little to himself when he seen the effect that his retreat had on her.
"What's this? Mr Prongs has moved away! I'm not sure if this is a defensive move, or a very sneaky offensive move," said a confused Sirius to an equally confused group.
Lily didn't know what had happened, she was so sure that he was going to give in and kiss her, but he just moved away! She was also feeling a little cold after he had moved, so instead of letting him getting his breath back, she moved forward closer to him.
"But Ms Evans is not going to let him get away that easily!" Commented Sirius with a grin.
James smiled; she was playing exactly the way he thought she would. He let Lily get a little closer, and then he pinned her down on the sofa. "Look who's got the upper hand now, Ms Evans," he leered down at her, knowing that she couldn't move no matter how much she struggled.
"Hey! This isn't fair! Get off me!" Lily tried to get him off, but he was too heavy. "You Guys, help me out!"
"Sorry Lilicakes, this is all part of how the game is played," Sirius grinned. Lily looked at her friends imploringly but they just shrugged and grinned along with Sirius.
James leant down until his mouth was at her ear and whispered, "Do you want to give up?" His breath tickled Lily's ear and sent shivers down her spine, especially when he nibbled at her ear lobe.
Lily looked up at James from under her eyelashes, and as his ear was placed so conveniently close to her mouth, she whispered back, "Never, Potter!"
"Well then, you leave me no choice," he said and began kissing and nibbling at her neck.
"HAH!" Lily shouted, "You kissed me! I win!"
"Nope," Remus sighed. "It has to be on the lips," He had been in that position before and lost.
Dammit! Lily could feel James grinning at her neck, and it felt so good. She involuntarily tilted her head so that he could get better access to her neck.
"So help me Potter, if you give me a hickey, I will hex you so bad-" her threat trailed off as he found a very sensitive part of her neck, just behind her ear.
"And there it is folks! His signature move, the reason why he has remained undefeated in this game! Why do you think I didn't want to play him?" Sirius teased.
Lily could feel that she was close to cracking; she needed to get him back quickly. She moved her head so that he couldn't get to her neck any more. They were so close that his lips were a just a fraction away from hers. She looked up at him, his eyes were no longer the light hazel that they had been at the start of the game; they had darkened to an almost chocolate brown.
James could feel that she was close to cracking, but when she looked at him, he wanted to give up and just kiss her. His breathing had sped up when he realised how close they were and he could feel her panting slightly. He was not going to lose this game! He had to think fast but the blood definitely wasn't flowing to his brain anymore. He let himself get just a little closer, so that there was only a thin strip of air between their lips, and he smirked when he saw that Lily's eyes had closed, and that her lips had parted just a little bit. She was so damn tempting!
She couldn't look at him anymore. She could feel him staring at her but she couldn't open her eyes, not with him so close.
"Last chance, Evans," James whispered, his voice husky.
She exhaled shakily, her heart was thumping, and she was sure that he could feel it. She wanted to kiss him so bad; all she had to do was to move her head very slightly…
The rest of the group were sitting on the edge of their seats trying to see. Sirius with the best view shook his head at them, signalling that nothing had happened.
Both of them had their eyes closed, their foreheads touching and they were breathing unevenly. Suddenly, Sirius had an idea! He realised that neither of them were going to make the final move as they were both too stubborn for their own good. He signalled to Lizzy and both of them got up silently, Sirius stood beside James and Lizzy beside Lily. On Remus' nod they pushed Lily's and James' heads together.
James had heard Sirius move, but he paid no attention to him, just waiting on Lily to crack, when he felt the pressure on the back of his head, and suddenly he was kissing her! He was kissing Lily Evans!
She kissed him back, just as eager as him. Determined to make it last just that little bit longer, he pulled back a little, and kissed her very lightly and very slowly.
Lily started struggling again, only this time to get closer, as she couldn't stand James' teasing. Freeing one of her hands, she grabbed the back of his head and crushed his mouth to hers. He got the message and deepened the kiss, running his tongue over her bottom lip, to ask permission, which he got.
A very pointed cough distracted them, and they both looked up to see the rest of the gang smirking at them.
Lily blushed as she realised how close she was to James.
"Well, well, well, that's certainly been the most interesting game of closer that I've ever seen, what about you Moony, Lizanna?" Sirius grinned
"Yes, definitely," they replied with sly grins.
"And just think Lily, for someone who didn't want to come down to the common room tonight, you're certainly enjoying yourself!" Anna teased with a grin on her face.
James, foreseeing that this teasing would continue all night unless he stopped it, stared at them and said in his most commanding voice, "As your head boy, I do believe that it's past your bedtime, now scram!"
"Oooohhhh, get him!" Anna giggled.
"You can't make us go anywhere!" Snickered Sirius.
"Oh really? Well what if I tell everyone about the time that Pads here walked into my bathroom com-"
Sirius, seeing where this was going, cut James off quickly by saying, "Okay, okay, let's not go into that! Everyone bed quick!" And grabbing the others' hands he ran up the stairs.
Lily laughed and said, "You'll have to tell me about that,"
James grinned, "Yeah, later. How do you feel about a midnight snack right about now?"
"Love one, only…" Lily trailed off as she looked at James pointedly.
"Oh! Right, sorry," James laughed as he got of her, dusted himself down and offered his hand to help Lily up. "Shall we?"
"I think we shall," she replied, taking his hand as they walked to the portait hole.
As the two left the common room, Sirius, Lizzy and Anna grinned and high-fived each other at a job well done.
"So Sirius, are you going to tell us about the time you walked into James' bathroom?" Lizzy asked.
"You'll never get it out of me!" he cried and ran up the stairs.
"We'll see about that," they said smirking at each other, and ran up the stairs after him.
AN: So there you have it, my first fanfiction oneshot.
REVIEW! (please) lol
